What is revival?
Merriam‑Webster defines revival as an act or instance of reviving; the state of being revived.
To revive means:
- To restore to life or consciousness.
- To regain life, consciousness, or strength.
- To give new strength or energy to.
With revival comes a “divine reset.”
What do I mean by that?
A divine reset can be a change in the way you think, act, or do daily things.
A divine reset can re-direct you into the direction that the Lord has for you, instead of the direction that you have been going in.
Revival in itself is meant to jolt you and realign you back to first things—your relationship with Jesus first, the Word of God, and the things of God—and if done right, after that, your relationship with others should look and be better. Forgiveness, love, and a desire to treat others the way you want to be treated first come out of your relationship with Jesus—because real and genuine, true love came from Christ first.
(Romans 5:8, ESV): God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!
A divine reset could be repentance—turning away from sin or an old way of doing things. It may even mean turning away from things that are not necessarily sin, but that are not beneficial to your spiritual, emotional, physical, or mental life. There could be things taking up your time that you simply need to cut out of your life.
1 Corinthians 6:12 (NLT) says: You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything.
There are things that could be stealing or draining your time, mental health, or life that you need to let go of. There are mindsets that you could have allowed in due to tragedy, grief, or pain over time that you need to get rid of. I am not dismissing any pain or tragedy that anyone has walked through by any means. But the reality is that, in order to truly move forward and experience the fullness of what the Lord has for you, you must renew your mind to God’s Word and allow His Spirit to comfort you and heal you from old patterns or negative mindsets. In order to gain new opportunities and new territory in your relationships, family, career, goals, or dreams, you must change your mindset first.
I think our culture loves “resets.” Things like New Year goals, spring decluttering/cleaning, and mid-year goal evaluations often come to mind. Some people re-evaluate their goals in the middle of the year; some people use the change of season to re-shift their focus—whether that be spring, fall, or winter (at the start of a new year).
You don’t have to wait until a “special time” to have a “divine reset.” The Bible says that His mercies are new every morning. So if you failed at something yesterday, guess what? His mercies are new for you tomorrow morning. His mercies are new for you TODAY! The Bible says that today is the day of salvation.
2 Corinthians 6:2 (NLT): For God says, “At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation.
Do you need to come back to the Lord? Then today is your day.
Did you fail at something—maybe a business idea, a friendship, a career, etc.?
Then today is your day for new mercies and to start over!
If we want to be truly successful in life (in any area), we have to learn how to heal and move on. Even in failure—even in “missed opportunities” or “missed time”—you have to learn how to get back up and try again.
Philippians 3:13 (ESV): “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead.”
You have to move forward in all that God has for you. He also doesn’t expect you to do it alone. One of my favorite things about the Lord is that He is a Restorer. He can restore opportunities, time, relationships, or resources back to you. But the key is to repent and/or obey what He is telling you to do.
Restoration doesn’t just happen out of nowhere—you have to move in the direction that He is telling you to go and do what He is requiring of you. That may mean forgiving someone, stepping out in your career or business, going back to church again, or recommitting your life to the Lord again (even though you left because you got hurt by something someone did or said). I don’t know what it is for you specifically, but the Holy Spirit knows. Allow Him to speak to you and direct you today.
Whether you are already running your race and just need a “next-level” boost, or you need God to radically change aspects of your life, let Him speak to you and restore you today. He is a God of restoration, and He can “divinely reset” your life when you turn to Him. The Bible says that when you draw near to God, He will draw near to you. When you repent of sinful ways, times of refreshing will come. Once you step out in obedience to follow a small instruction from the Lord, it could have the potential to start a domino effect in your life. One step in the right direction could lead to the next step, which could open doors to opportunities that a person can only dream of—when you obey God’s direction for you.
So make this personal:
What is an area of your life that you need to consecrate to the Lord?
I believe recent events show that our nation and its people are hungry for a real encounter with Jesus. And when that happens, revival breaks out. But after revival, there is always an instruction—something you must do in obedience to the Lord.
An instruction to do something can mean cutting ties with a toxic relationship or cutting something out of your life. It can be an instruction to move, to create, to build, or to do something that will multiply and impact someone else’s life for the sake of the Gospel.
What is that instruction that the Lord is telling you to do?
Let times of refreshing fall on you and your life as you come back to Jesus fully.
If you have never given your life to the Lord or need to re-commit yourself to Him, read this out loud:
Dear Lord Jesus, come into my heart. Forgive me for all my sins. I believe that God raised You from the dead and that You’re coming back again for me! Fill me with the Holy Spirit. Empower me to live a life for You. You are Lord and Savior over my life. I am saved. I am born again. I’m on my way to heaven!
You are capable of great things!
Romans 10:9 (NKJV) that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Revelation 21:5 (ESV) And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
Acts 3:19-21 (ESV) Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.
Joel 2:25-26 (ESV) I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you. “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame.